American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
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| Long title | An Act making supplemental appropriations for job preservation and creation, infrastructure investment, energy efficiency and science, assistance to the unemployed, State, and local fiscal stabilization, for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2009, and for other purposes. |
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| Acronyms (colloquial) | ARRA |
| Nicknames | Recovery Act |
| Enacted by | the 111th United States Congress |
| Effective | February 17, 2009 |
| Citations | |
| Public law | 111-5 |
| Statutes at Large | 123 Stat. 115 |
| Codification | |
| Acts amended |
Energy Policy Act of 2005 Energy Policy Act of 1992 Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 |
| Titles amended |
16 U.S.C.: Conservation 42 U.S.C.: Public Health and Social Welfare |
| U.S.C. sections amended |
16 U.S.C. ch. 46 § 2601 et seq. 42 U.S.C. ch. 134 § 13201 et seq. 42 U.S.C. ch. 149 § 15801 et seq. |
| Legislative history | |
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| Major amendments | |
| Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 | |
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) (Pub.L. 111–5), nicknamed the Recovery Act, was a stimulus package enacted by the 111th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in February 2009. Developed in response to the Great Recession, the ARRA's primary objective was to save existing jobs and create new ones as soon as possible. Other objectives were to provide temporary relief programs for those most affected by the recession and invest in infrastructure, education, health, and renewable energy.
The approximate cost of the economic stimulus package was estimated to be $787 billion at the time of passage, later revised to $831 billion between 2009 and 2019. The ARRA's rationale was based on the Keynesian economic theory that, during recessions, the government should offset the decrease in private spending with an increase in public spending in order to save jobs and stop further economic deterioration.
Since its inception, the impact of the stimulus has been a subject of disagreement. Studies on its effects have produced a range of conclusions, from strongly positive to strongly negative and all reactions in between. In 2012, the IGM Forum poll conducted by the University of Chicago Booth School of Business found 80% of leading economists agree unemployment was lower at the end of 2010 than it would have been without the stimulus. Regarding whether the benefits of the stimulus outweighed its costs, responses were more varied: 46% "agreed" or "strongly agreed" that the benefits outweighed the costs, 27% were uncertain, and 12% disagreed or strongly disagreed. IGM Forum asked the same question to leading economists in 2014. This new poll found 82% of leading economists strongly agreed or agreed that unemployment was lower in 2010 than it would have been without the stimulus. Revisiting the question about the benefits outweighing the costs, 56% strongly agreed or agreed that it did, 23% were uncertain, and 5% disagreed.
Both the House and the Senate versions of the bills were primarily written by Democratic Congressional committee leaders and their staffs. Because work on the bills started before President Obama officially took office on January 20, 2009, top aides to President-Elect Obama held multiple meetings with committee leaders and staffers. On January 10, 2009, President-Elect Obama's administration released a report that provided a preliminary analysis of the impact to jobs of some of the prototypical recovery packages that were being considered.
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